There were six guys. Thought they would have the evening tea at the Leela Palace. Boarded a Volvo for one stop, minimum ticket Rs 10. One guy strikes a deal with the Ticket Collector: Rs 40, no tickets. The TC was happy. Rs 40 to supplement his meager income. The guys who would probably have paid a Rs 50 tip at the Leela Palace were also happy to save 20. The ghotala (scam) cost the government, who owns the bus and pays the running cost, Rs 60. Ghotala is probably too harsh a word for such a thing. Rs 60, nothing big.
But then, I am a tech guy. I have studied the real world implementation of Integral Calculus. Everything is made up of infinitesimally small elements. Integration means summation. Summation of atoms make things, summation of droplets make oceans, summation of rocks make mountains, summation of people make governments and nations.
Summation of what makes corruption? A police officer asking for petty bribes to supplement his meager income; an executive claiming reimbursements more than he is due; a common man eating at a crowded snacks corner and not paying the helpless shopkeeper (I have seen well off people do this); a traveller not buying a local train ticket because she is getting late and there is a queue; a ticket collector keeping the un-billed cash to himself; a businessman illegally evading tax because the government is “anyways” not building infrastructure.
Unfortunately Aam Aadmi (common man), you are responsible for ghotalas worth more than 100 crores everyday. Everyday. Why make the 2G scam and CWG mess scapegoats?
We don’t need to fast or go to jail to fight corruption. We need to get our act together, teach our kids accountability and strongly insist accountability from people we deal with everyday.
